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Friday, October 23, 2015

Bio: Lynne
Gentry has written for numerous publications and is a professional acting
coach, theater director, and playwright with several full-length musicals and a
Chicago
children’s theater curriculum to her credit. She likes to write stories that
launch modern women into ancient adventures, such as The Carthage Chronicles
series (Healer of Carthage,
Return to Exile, andValley of Decision).
Gentry is also an inspirational speaker and dramatic performer who loves spending
time with her family and medical therapy dog.

Dear Readers, Lynne
lives not very far from me, and she’s a dear friend. In addition to both being novelists, we share a background in
live theater as directors and playwrights. Her time-travel novels have amazed
me. I had thought that there couldn’t be a Christian time-travel novel that I
could suspend disbelieve and accept. But I was wrong. I was privileged to read
this book for endorsement. As with the first two novels, the historical
authenticity blew me away, and her characters walked into my heart and took
over. I’m eager for her next series to see the light of day.

Welcome back, Lynne. What
are some of the spiritual themes you like to write about?

So good to be with you and your readers again, Lena. We’ve talked about spiritual themes before and you
and I both love to write about regrets, injustice, and the victory over both
that only the Lord provides.

What other books of
yours are coming out soon?

Valley of Decision finishes up the three books in The Carthage
Chronicles series. I’ve loved writing this tale which is loosely based on the
life of the real third-century Christian martyr, Cyprianus Thascius. It will be
hard to leave these characters I’ve grown to love behind, but I’m starting a
new series. I can’t yet discuss it, but I can’t wait for my readers to meet my
new cast and come along with them on another wild adventure.

If you could spend an
evening with one contemporary person (not a family member of yours), who would
it be and why?

I was blessed to be able to do some devotional writing for
Stephen Arterburn, the founder of Women of Faith. I’ve always admired the
original team of incredible women he put together: Shelia Walsh, Nicole
Johnson, Luci Swindoll, Marilyn Meberg and the petite stick of dynamite Patsy
Clairmont. Having coffee with any of these gals would be a tremendous treat.
However, if I had to pick one, I’d have to say that Patsy Clairmont has been a
special inspiration to me. Overcoming a lifetime of tremendous fear, Patsy has
gone on to do powerful things for the Kingdom of God.
I only hope I’m half as brave as this faithful little firecracker.

I love the Women of
Faith ministry. What historical person would you like to meet (besides Jesus)
and why?

After spending two years immersed in the life of the wealthy
Roman lawyer Cyprianus Thascius, I’d have to say that I would LOVE to meet him
in person. I have so many unanswered questions. I’d also love to thank him. It
was because of his courage the good news of Christ was not extinguished. I’m always
amazed at the people the Lord taps upon the shoulder. From poor fishermen to
the wealthiest and most educated, all of us have the potential to make a
difference.

That is so true. How
can you encourage authors who have been receiving only rejections from
publishers?

I hate rejection on any level. That I am still in the
publishing business is proof of the Lord’s sense of humor. I’ve even kept a
file of my rejections that’s almost an inch thick. An interesting thing
happened along this publishing journey though. As the rejection file grew
thicker, so did my skin. I knew I had been called by God to write. It is my
talent. It is my gift. To stop writing would be to deny the power of God to use
these gifts to His glory. To the discouraged I say boldly, if you feel called, keep
writing.

Tell us about the
featured book.

Valley of Decision was the hardest book in the series to write
and yet it was the most rewarding. I knew what the ending had to be and I
dreaded it. I also wanted to give my readers a different taste of the third
century. I wanted to keep the plague ever before them, but I also wanted to
showcase more of the persecution. This last part of the story required me to go
deep into the legal and political struggles of the day, which included a lot of
injustice, which grates on me. I can’t stand it when things are unfair. So many
decisions the characters faced in this last story were unfair: broken family
relationships, conflicts between going and staying, or choosing between doing
what was easy or what was right. In the end, I hope I managed to portray that
none of us can make this journey on our own. We need each other.

I didn’t think you
could write a third book that I could accept, but your ending satisfied me on
many levels. Please give us the first page of the book for my readers.

“When unattended wounds succumb to infection”—Dr. Lisbeth
Hastings advanced the slide in the Power-Point presentation, and the raw end of
a severed leg appeared on the screen—“amputation of the gangrenous extremity
may be the only way to stop a deadly pathogen from progressing to the body’s
core.” She was not surprised by the hand that shot up.

The ambitious resident with thick glasses and freshly
pressed scrubs was always looking for an opportunity to prove his brilliance.
Debating whether to give him an excuse to derail her lecture, Lisbeth took a
deep breath. “Your question, Dr. Gingrich?”

The surgical resident pressed his glasses to his nose. “What
about IV Vancomycin or Zosyn?”

Lisbeth kept her expression neutral, but inside she was
cringing. Looking at Dr. Gingrich was like looking at herself nearly twenty
years ago. Self-serving. Terrified. And determined to control everyone and
every outcome. What a waste of precious time and energy. Oh, the things she
would tell that desperate girl if she ever got the chance to go back in time
again.

She suppressed her desire to take the kid aside and shake
some sense into him. Her job was not to coddle young doctors but to make them
into quick-thinking surgeons able to face anything the operating room threw at
them.

Thank you, Lynne, for sharing this new book with us. I know that those of my readers who have read the first two are anxious to read this one. And for readers new to this series, I recommend that you read all of them in order. The good thing about that is that you won't have to wait a long time between reading them. You can go straight from one to the other.Do you ever wonder where authors get their ideas for their novels? Here's where Lynne got the idea for this series.

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Thanks for taking the time to visit with Lena and me, Kim. Sarah, I love it when readers take the time to write reviews and I appreciate readers who read them. Anonymous, makes me smile to see readers dare to read something that might challenge them. You go.

Hi Lynne & Lena! I've read all three books in the Carthage Chronicles and I am enamored by Lisbeth, Cyprian, Maggie, the rest of the characters and third century Carthage! I'd love to see a spin off series about Maggie and with whom and where she ends up in her future. (Hint, hint!)Kristen in OKkam110476 at gmail dot com